INTRODUCTION

A huge amount of used lubricating oils areproduced worldwide. The different sources of usedlubricating oils are railway workshops, industries,ship garages, defense machinery, automobilesworkshops, etc. All types of lubricating oils in servicein automobiles and process industries becomecontaminated and lose their performance due tochanges in some of their properties. Therefore, suchoils must be removed as used oil from the serviceas frequently as necessary. How to handle and whatto do with the used lubricating oils are seriousconcerns to environmentalists, governments,industries and research scientists. Used lubricatingoil disposal techniques of the past such as landfilling, road oiling, and track side foliage control,indiscriminate dumping, burning for energy, etc.,create serious environmental problems. Many ofthese disposal techniques are severely restrictedby current state and federal environmentalregulations1. The common disposal technique ofused lubricating oil is burning for generation ofenergy. Burning and all other routes of disposals ofused lubricating oils are uneconomical and result

Current World Environment Vol. 5(1), 79-84 (2010)

Reclamation of used lubricating oils

VINEET KATIYAR and SATTAR HUSAIN

Department of Chemical Engineering, Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology,A.M.U., Aligarh- 202 002 (India).

(Received: April 25, 2010; Accepted: May 18, 2010)

ABSTRACT

Lubricating oils are widely used to reduce friction and wear by interposing a film of materialbetween rubbing surfaces. However, the used lubricant oil does not evaporate and less subject tobiodegradation. It requires proper treatment before it can be discharged to the environment. Recently,there is an increase tendency of using used lubricating oil as re-refining feedstock on a worldwidebasis. Re-refining of used lubricating oil is an intelligent option for any country, more so for India, as itwould conserve both the natural resources as well as foreign exchange. It would also make us nearself-reliant in lube oils.

Key words: Used lubricating oils, refining, lube oil.

in the wastage of resources2-6. The recycling ofwaste lubricating oils may be a suitable andeconomical alternative to burning and incineration7.Different techniques have been developed forreclaiming and re-refining waste lubricants oils toeither restore the original usefulness of the oil orclean the contaminated oils to a point that they canbecome suitable for sub-sequent use. Among thesemethods, reclaiming by heating and filtration, re-refining by introducing waste oil into crude oil refiningstreams, recycling by acid/clay treatment, thin filmevaporation/clay contact finishing, thin filmevaporation/hydro treats finishing, etc, are nowemployed in different countries worldwide8-12.Environmental concerns are associated with allthose methods except the last which is usually themost expensive and needs a re-refining installation.Thin film evaporation methods are generally usedin North America and Europe while the othermethods, particularly the acid/clay technique areemployed usually in the developing countries. Thisprocess has been employed for many years as thepremier type of re-refining in which concentratedsulfuric acid is introduced to dehydrate wastelubricant oil. An acidic sludge is produced which is

80 Katiyar & Husain, Curr. World Environ., Vol. 5(1), 79-84 (2010)

treated with clay. The acidic sludge and oily claydisposal is a matter of greater environmentalconcern. Changing away from the notorious acid/clay process to some form of distillation has beenmade in the past13-14.

The most important route to conservelubricants is that of recycling. Recycling is a genericterm for processing used lube oil to regain usefulmaterial through reclamation and re-refining. Theimportant statistical data relating to the oil sector isgiven in Tables 1, 2 and 3.

Several re-refining technologiesThere are several re-refining technologies.

These are:1. Acid clay process2. Prop process3. Sulfuric Acid Refining4. Propane Extraction Process5. Mohawk Technology6. KTI process7. Safety Kleen Process8. DEA Technology9. High-temp Clay Reclamation

Following three new refineries has been planned.

Name of Refineries Capacity Expenditure Act./Ant Compl. Date

IOC, Paradip 9 MMTPA 8312 March-2010BPC, Bina 6 MMT 6354 Sept.-2009HPC,Bhatinda 9 MMT 9806 Dece.-2006

Table 1: Refinery in indiaAs of July, 2005 there are a total of 18 refineries in the country comprising 17 in the Public

Sector, one in the private sector. The company-wise locations and capacity of the refineries ason 1.7.2005 are given below:

S. Name of the company Location of CapacityNo. the Refinery (MMTPA)*

1. Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) Guwahati 1.002. IOCL Barauni 6.003. IOCL Koyali 13.704. IOCL Haldia 6.005. IOCL Mathura 8.006. IOCL Digboi 0.657. IOCL Panipat 6.008. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) Mumbai 5.509. HPCL Visakhapatnam 7.5010. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) Mumbai 6.9011. Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) Manali 9.5012. CPCL Nagapattnam 1.0013. Kochi Refineries Ltd. (KRL) Kochi 7.5014. Bongaigaon Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (BRPL) Bongaigaon 2.3515. Numaligarh Refinery Ltd.(NRL) Numaligarh 3.0016. Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) Mangalore 9.6917. Tatipaka refinery (ONGC) Andhra Pradesh 0.07818. Reliance Petroleum Ltd. (RPL).Pvt. Sector Jamnagar 33.00

TOTAL 127.37

81Katiyar & Husain, Curr. World Environ., Vol. 5(1), 79-84 (2010)

Table 2: Projected production of crude oil during the eleventh plan [2007-2012]

Company 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Total

ONGC 27.16 28.00 29.00 28.53 27.37 140.06OIL 3.50 3.55 3.73 3.91 4.30 18.99Joint Venture / Private Companies 10.57 10.78 9.76 8.75 7.85 47.71Total 41.23 42.33 42.48 41.19 39.52 206.76Actual Production 34.12 37.35Production of Crude Oil (MMT)

Table 3: Production of crude oil

Item 1990-91 2000-01 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2009-07 2007-081 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1. Crude oil production++ ('000' Tonnes)(a) OnshoreGujarat 6357 5815 6131 6187 6251 6212 6177Assam/Nagaland 5070 5199 4592 4703 4474 4400 4356Arunachal Pradesh 41 78 77 83 104 109 102Tamil Nadu 302 436 375 391 335 353 298Andra Pradesh 14 263 281 226 216 252 279Total (a) 11784 11791 11456 11590 11430 11326 11212of whichOIL 2647 3286 3002 3196 3234 3107 3100ONGC 9137 8428 8380 8320 8095 8058 7920JVC/Private 0 77 74 74 101 161 192(b) Offshore:ONGC 20376 16629 17677 18165 16309 17993 18020JCV/Private Nil 4006 4240 4226 4451 4669 4885Total (b) 20376 20635 21917 22391 20760 22662 22905Grand Total (a+b) 32160 32426 33373 33981 32190 33988 34117

From Ministry of petroleium, India

The advantages and disadvantages ofthese processes are summarized in Table - 4 14-17.

Burning Used Oil an Environmental IssueWhen any substance is burned, the

elements and compounds of which it is made upare released into the air as gases or particles, orthey collect in the ash. If released in high enoughquantities, some of these gases and particles canhave harmful effects on human health and theenvironment. The ash can also be harmful. Theeffects on human health can be direct or indirect.Direct harm to human health can occur when thefine particles are inhaled into the lungs. People with

asthma or existing respiratory disease are mostlikely to suffer direct adverse health effects. Indirecteffects occur when the fine particles, which containcontaminants such as heavy metals, settle on foodcrops and end up in the food we eat. Some oil canbe burned without causing adverse effects onhuman health and the environment. To achieve thisusually requires strict conditions such as:´ Controlling the content of the substance

burned´ Using filters and scrubbers to remove

particles and chemicals from the discharge´ Designing chimney stacks to ensure good

dispersion of the discharge

82 Katiyar & Husain, Curr. World Environ., Vol. 5(1), 79-84 (2010)

Table 4.

S. No. Process Advantages Disadvantages

1. Acid-Clay It can remove solid matter, Treated oil lacks in oxidationProcess water. stability.

It can also remove products of Disposal of acidic sludge and oilydeterioration of oil and clays.unsaturated compounds.

2. PROP Process It can produce high yields of Corrosive condensates and otherbase oils from used lube oils. wastes are generated and disposalIt can remove unwanted sulphur, of these wastes is a problem.nitrogen, oxygen and chlorinecompounds and accomplishes The base stocks produced will notthe desired improvement in meet the rigid tests of quality.colour.

3. Sulfuric acid It can reduce the amount of Due to the acidic sludge problem,Refining acidic sludge and used bleaching Acid refining has largely been

clay generated as well as replaced by other methods.increasing the lube oil yield.

4. Propane It can improve the yields and Corrosive condensates areExtraction colour of the used oil. generated.Process It is followed by hydrogenation Disposal of wastes is a problem.

5. Mohawk of the distillate at 1000 psi over It is based on the KTI process.Technology a standard catalyst.

Special steps realized catalystlife of 8 to12 months which wasessential for the economy of the process.

6. KTI process It can remove sulfur, nitrogen Disposal of wastes is a problem.(Kinetics and oxygen.Technology The yield of finished base oils is The cost of process is high.International) high.

7. Safety Kleen It can remove higher boiling Recovery is lowProcess chlorinated paraffins.

It can reduce polynucleararomatic.

8. DEA- It can improve technical and Process cost is highTechnology environmental quality of the re-

refined oil.Elimination of PAH are providedby a combination of thin filmdistillation followed by selectivesolvent Extraction.

9. High-temp clay It can remove insoluble Both capital and operating cost arereclamation impurities. such that it is seldom economical

Additives are completely except where oil is expensiveremoved by the process. and/or difficult to obtain especially

as the oil less generally.

83Katiyar & Husain, Curr. World Environ., Vol. 5(1), 79-84 (2010)

´ Ensuring the burner operates to a particulardegree of combustion efficiency(temperature, residence time, etc)

´ Specifying methods of containing anddisposing of ash.

Unused oilThe materials listed below are not used oil.

´ Used animal or vegetable oils (they areconsidered food wastes rather than used oil,because they are not synthetic and notderived from crude oil).

´ Unused contaminated or uncontaminatedoils going for reclamation.

´ Solid wastes contaminated with used oil(such as absorbents and scrap metal) thatare not burned for energy recovery and thatdo not have free-flowing oil.

´ Solvents (such as petroleum spirits, mineralspir its, petroleum ether, acetone, fueladditives, alcohols, paint thinners, brushcleaners, and other cleaners)

´ Substances that cannot readily be recycledin the same processes as used oil.

´ Used antifreeze.

Uused oilUsed oil includes of the materials listed

below.´ Any oil, either synthetic or refined from crude

oil, that has been used for its designed andintended purposes; and as a result of use, iscontaminated by physical or chemicalimpurities; and as a result, has become aspent material (that is, it can no longer beused for its originally intended purposewithout processing).

´ Used oil to be burned for energy recovery.´ Any other material that has physical and

chemical properties similar to used oil, isused in normally accepted functions of oil.

´ Used oil that is characteristically hazardousfrom use (as opposed to oil renderedcharacteristically hazardous by mixing).

Examples of Used OilThe following lists give some examples of

oils that have become spent materials through use.

Spent Engine Oil and Vehicle LubricantsUsed oils include, but are not limited to,

the following spent engine lubricating oils and vehiclefluids:´ Automotive crankcase oil, including car,

truck, marine, and aircraft engine oils notused for engine fuel;

´ Diesel engine crankcase oil, including car,truck, bus, marine, heavy equipment, andrailroad engine oils not used for fuel;

´ Natural-gas-fired engine oils;´ Alternative fuel engine oils;´ Transmission fluids;´ Brake fluids; and´ Power steering fluids.

Spent Industrial OilsUsed oils also include, but are not limited

to, the following spent industrial oils:´ Compressor, turbine, and bearing oils;´ Hydraulic oils or fluids;´ Metalworking oils or oil emulsions, including

cutting, gr inding, machining, rolling,stamping, quenching, and coating oils;electrical insulating oils;

´ Refrigerator/air conditioning unit oils;´ Rubber-making oils;´ Cable oils;´ Greases; and´ Oil-like heat transfer fluids18-19.

CONCLUSION

Used oil is a pollutant and by re-refining,the pollution is reduced. The quality of thoroughlyre-refined oil is comparable with nascent base oils.Hence, it should be awarded import-substitutestatus. While making fresh lubricating oils, blendingwith 5 -10% of re-refined base oils should be donefor viscosity correction. All such blended oils shouldbe stamped with eco-label/green label to make thepublic aware about the concept of re-refining. Theeco-conscious customers would buy the productwith green label. Since re-refining leads to oilconservation; the concept of re-refining should bestrongly supported by the Petroleum ConservationResearch Association.

84 Katiyar & Husain, Curr. World Environ., Vol. 5(1), 79-84 (2010)

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9. Wrinkman, D.W.; Dikson, J. R.;Wilkinson, D.Environ. Sci.Technol., 29: 87 (1995).

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